I honestly like the medieval pageantry of the whole thing, but I wish people did not take it seriously. The Pope should be like the Queen of England, purely ceremonial with no real power.

I think a lot of catholics, if not most of them, think of it that way. When I was catholic, I had not special reverence for the pope. Pope-shmope was my attitude. I don't know of any catholics who thought differently. Even my old granny, who thinks well of popes, generally feels empowered to disregard them where her judgments conflict with theirs.

I read an interesting article a little while ago on the American Conservative site. I think it was by Rod Dreher, who is a social conservative, religious zealot and all around prude. But he's not stupid and he makes some good points. The article was titled something like "everyone is protestant now". The point was he knew few people, even amongst catholics, who acknowledged they were subject to a higher moral authority.

Agree. It was that way for me also...and prob most Catholics. Very few follow church teachings regarding sexuality, borth control, abortion, divocrce, etc. I see the owner of Dominos Pizza is pulling the bleeding heart of saying it is against his religious beliefs to offer his employees the option for birth control coverage. Stupid stuff. Another place not to eat at.

Jesuits were kind of the black sheep of the church for a long time. The order that ran Catholic schools (mainly all male schools) ruled the roost with an iron fist. They were anything but poverty at least in the USA.

Has anybody heard anything about the skeletons in the new Popes closet?

Only thing I have heard is about the military rule when people were disappearing and how he might not have been as vocal as some might have wanted. Also, something about liberation theology. I guess he was on the other side. Liberation theology priests took an active radical view of how government should be.

Has anybody heard anything about the skeletons in the new Popes closet?

he's close with the curia - the cardinal flock that perches in the vatican.[1] They are the corrupt fuckers who launder money for drug dealers and terrorists. He was also the runner up to the Panzer Kardinal in the last popification. It has been rumored that this was a coup and Pope Dracula was kind of forced out by Pope Pepe and the curia.

If we leave legitimate questions about his past for a moment, can I pause to marvel at his present?

The reports of his press conference today suggest a radically new symbolism for the church. This kind of understanding of the diverse and multi-faith and multi-cultural modernity is something you would never have heard from Benedict XVI ...

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John 14:2 :: In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

Maybe this was posted before, or maybe some saw it on facebook, anyway:

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Here's the new Pope, wearing a fabulous vintage chiffon-lined Dior gold lame gown over a silk Vera Wang empire waist tulle cocktail dress, accessorized with a three-foot House of Whoville hat and the ruby slippers Judy Garland wore in the Wizard of Oz, on his way to tell us it's Wrong to be Gay.

Jesuits were kind of the black sheep of the church for a long time. The order that ran Catholic schools (mainly all male schools) ruled the roost with an iron fist. They were anything but poverty at least in the USA.

I was privy to this scholastic system, all boys Catholic grammar school, run by Jesuits... got a great education, the vast majority of it being in the academics rather than "shop" or "home economics" etc... I didn't realize, at the time, that I was perilously close to losing my rear end virginity....

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rhocam ~ I guess there are several trillion cells in a man, and one in an amoeba, so to be generous, lets say that there were a billion. That is one every fifteen years. So in my lifetime I should have seen two evolutionary changes.

Maybe this was posted before, or maybe some saw it on facebook, anyway:

Quote

Here's the new Pope, wearing a fabulous vintage chiffon-lined Dior gold lame gown over a silk Vera Wang empire waist tulle cocktail dress, accessorized with a three-foot House of Whoville hat and the ruby slippers Judy Garland wore in the Wizard of Oz, on his way to tell us it's Wrong to be Gay.

Has anybody heard anything about the skeletons in the new Popes closet?

I believe that his complacency during Argentina's "Dirty War" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirty_War , during which tens of thousands of his countryman were kidnapped, tortured and killed, is damning enough.

However, those familiar with the politics of Argentina during that era claim that he was more than complacent, and that he, in fact, took an active role, by offering up two progressive clergy to the government. I know that most folks here have a low opinion of most clergy, but I spent some time in the decade after the Dirty War working with liberation theologists in Central America, and I have a lot of respect for their work and advocacy efforts. Following the path set by Argentina in the 1970's, several Central American nations considered progressive clergy fair game for kidnapping, torture, rape and murder.

And while I think it is lovely that our new Pope kissed the feet of AIDS patients, I might be a bit more impressed if he used his position of power to promote the use of condoms and promote sex education, which has been proven to prevent the spread of AIDS.

In terms of Liberace, I find it disturbing to think that god let him into heaven, and then prohibited from playing dress up in the afterlife. I will continue to pray that God allows him to dress even more fabulously than the pontiff. For all of eternity.

Pope Francis has said in earlier writings that the rule about priests and celibacy could be changed. He also was not against the idea of civil unions for gays. Small steps I know but for a church stuck in the 12th century these are important steps if only because they are thinking about them. This guy might actually do something good. He seems very interested in the poor...like actually helping, not judging.